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The Expectancy-Value model has been extensively used to understand students' achievement motivation. However, recent studies propose the inclusion of cost as a separate construct from values, leading to the development of the Expectancy-Value-Cost model. This study aimed to adapt Kosovich et al.'s (The Journal of Early Adolescence, 35, 5–6, 2015) instrument for assessing achievement motivation in science and math among Spanish-speaking students aged 9–12. The psychometric evaluation encompassed examining validity, reliability, and measurement invariance for gender. The findings support the applicability of the expectancy-value-cost model in elementary school students, providing a valid and reliable tool for assessing achievement motivation in the science and math domain. However, the findings for the measurement invariance for gender are less conclusive and warrant future psychometric evaluations. This study opens avenues for future research on achievement motivation in Spanish-speaking contexts and populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers set the tone for their classrooms, but what teacher beliefs shape students' sense of belonging? We investigate how teachers' mindsets—or their beliefs about learning and school—relate to adolescents' individual and collective reports of classroom belonging. Our pre-registered analyses include a multilevel design of how 1,200 US middle school students (ages 11–13; 50% female; 49% low income; 40% White, 30% Latinx, 13% Black, 9% Asian) and their teachers responded to surveys on educational mindsets. We find teachers' growth mindset and confidence in teaching positively relate to students' math class belonging—explaining between 30 and 40% of belonging among classes. Our data suggest a teacher's own sense of school belonging is unrelated to the belonging students feel in class, suggesting teachers' broad feelings of belonging may not influence students' specific classroom feelings of belonging as anticipated. These findings reinforce the notion that what teachers think and believe influence how students feel when in class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although women's representation in STEM fields and occupations has increased, science and math continue to be stereotyped as male domains. This paper links psychological and sociological explanations for gendered disparities in STEM by examining the relationship between the local "micro-situational" female learning environment and the gender gap in academic self-concept in math and science. We applied hybrid models to TIMSS 2015 data comprised of a pseudo-panel of repeated measures for individual student and peer achievement, academic self-concept, utility value, and interest-enjoyment value in math/science (at age 14). We analyzed data from three countries, including a subsample of students who were taught by the same teacher in both math and science, thus eliminating unobserved teacher heterogeneity. Results indicate that female peer climate in the classroom is important for understanding how girls' self-concept in math/science is formed, even though it was unrelated to the gender gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether adolescent students' externalizing behavior and prosocial behavior affects their academic achievement (i.e., school grades and standardized test scores) in two major academic domains (i.e., mathematics and German) over and above well-established determinants of school achievement (i.e., prior achievement, intelligence, and domain-specific self-concepts). The study draws on longitudinal data from two independent samples of students (A/B) who were each followed from Grade 7 to Grade 9 (N A/B = 1143/1345). In each academic domain, structural equation models showed that externalizing behavior negatively predicted and prosocial behavior positively predicted academic achievement. When both behaviors were included simultaneously, prosocial behavior particularly predicted school grades in both domains, whereas externalizing behavior particularly predicted test scores in mathematics. Further analyses did not suggest differences between boys and girls in the effects of social behavior on academic achievement. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Girls and women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Research has investigated various explanatory factors (e.g., lack of role models, sexism) in these patterns. However, to date, the roles of media use and body concerns have not been examined. This study investigated associations among appearance-focused social media behaviors (e.g., posting photos), objectified body consciousness (i.e., body shame, body surveillance), and attitudes toward math and science (i.e., self-expectancy, task value, cost, future plans) in a sample of U.S. middle school girls (N = 243). Results demonstrated that body shame partially mediated associations between appearance-focused social media behaviors and math and science attitudes. These findings suggest that media use and body concerns have implications for girls' involvement in STEM fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curricular tracking is common in many countries, yet this school practice might have unintended consequences for students' attitudes toward school. We examined the changes in adolescents' school belonging among sixth graders placed in honors versus regular math, with academic identity as a mediator in this relation. Early adolescents (N = 322; 72% White; 164 girls) in the southeastern United States completed measures of school belonging and academic identity at the beginning and end of their sixth-grade year. With parent education, prior math achievement, and prior school belonging controlled, honors math placement predicted increases in school belonging from the beginning to the end of students' sixth-grade year, and this association was positively mediated by academic identity. Results of this study are important for further understanding the influences of tracking on students' motivational beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We illustrate how early adolescents use different patterns of ability feedback to promote a positive self-concept of ability (SCA) in mathematics. Students can simultaneously use ability appraisals from parents and teachers, while also drawing information from peer, dimensional, and temporal comparisons. Although we find these five sources are equally important for promoting students' positive SCA, on average, we use a pattern-centered approach to show that students who believe they are good at math often select certain feedback sources as more important to develop this belief. We find that students' patterns of ability feedback are unstable, with evidence suggesting different patterns may emerge depending on the availability of ability feedback. Findings suggest early adolescents attempting to promote their own positive SCA in mathematics may know to seek different feedback sources depending on their individual circumstances. Implications are discussed through the lens of social comparison theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics anxiety negatively impacts cognitive processing, performance, expectations, motivation, and future choices. However, research has not examined patterns in students' mathematics anxiety levels over time. The current study addresses this gap by exploring group-based trajectories in mathematics anxiety during the transition to junior high school. Five trajectories are described: consistently low anxiety, consistently high anxiety, steady decline, summer decrease, and summer increase. Predictors of trajectory membership, including student demographics and motivational variables like self-concept, are explored. Trajectory membership predicts longitudinal differences in expectations and values after high school. Implications for research on students' mathematics anxiety over time and especially during transition are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K), this study aimed to identify body mass index (BMI) trajectories from kindergarten to eighth grade using group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM), examine the relationships between BMI trajectories and adolescents' school achievement (reading and math), determine whether parental warmth had a protective effect on adolescents in the higher BMI groups, and assess whether similar patterns were observed for boys and girls. Three distinct BMI trajectories were identified. Adolescents in the gradually increasing BMI group and consistently higher BMI group were shown to have worse academic achievement compared with adolescents in the consistently low-to-normal BMI group. Parental warmth in eighth grade played a protective role for girls but not for boys, suggesting important gender differences in the role of parental warmth in overweight and obese adolescents' school achievement. Our results highlighted the importance of intervention programs tailored for specific subgroups of overweight and obese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the nature and implications of peer academic reputations in math and science classes for early adolescents’ achievement beliefs and behaviors. The sample was 840 students (51% girls; 36% African American, 47% European American, 7% Latino, 6% Asian American, and 3% Other). About half the sample (47%) was from 27 fifth-grade classrooms in elementary schools and about half the sample (53%) was from 28 sixth-grade classrooms in middle schools. Peer academic reputations and student adjustment were assessed in the fall and spring of the school year. Peer academic reputation in the fall was associated with students’ self-concept, worry, and engagement (but not intrinsic value) in the spring, controlling for fall levels. Peer academic reputation operated similarly across gender, ethnicity, and grade level. Thus, peers’ opinions and expectations about each other’s math and science achievement matter for the development of students’ achievement beliefs and behaviors in math and science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of parental beliefs and behaviors on children’s math confidence and performance is well documented, but few studies examine these associations over time, or in large samples of Latino/a families. This study used longitudinal data from 247 (114 sons and 133 daughters) mother-child dyads to examine whether maternal math gender stereotypes and math involvement predict changes in the mothers’ behavior or changes in the child’s perceived math competence. Maternal math gender stereotypes when children were in fifth grade predicted decreases in mothers’ involvement in their daughter’s math homework from fifth to sixth grade. Greater maternal math involvement in fifth grade predicted increases in sons’ and daughters’ perceptions of math ability from fifth to sixth grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study tested whether a reduced number of categories is optimal for assessing mathematics self-efficacy among middle school students using a 6-point Likert-type format or a 0- to 100-point format. Two independent samples of middle school adolescents (N = 1,913) were administered a 24-item Middle School Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale using either a 101-point or a 6-point response scale format. The findings suggest that the two different response scale formats were optimally represented by a 4-point scale and supported when samples were pooled. Results provide tentative evidence that middle school students make use of only 4 scale points and that the items on this scale are best matched with adolescents with average to below-average mathematics self-efficacy. Implications for the measurement of self-efficacy and related motivation constructs are discussed, and replications with a 4-point scale using category descriptors for each scale point are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value-added (VA) models measure teacher contributions to student learning and are increasingly employed in educational reform efforts. Using data from 35 seventh-grade teachers and 2,026 students across seven schools, we employ VA methods to measure teacher contributions to students’ motivational orientations (mastery and performance achievement goals) and their mathematics performance. The analysis suggests less variation in teachers’ contributions to students’ achievement goals than mathematics achievement. However, during a time when most students’ mastery motivation is declining sharply, a one standard deviation increase in teacher contributions to student mastery orientation is associated with a 40% smaller decline in student mastery goals. Teacher mastery contributions are also associated with gains in a student’s seventh-grade mathematics achievement (d = .11). In addition to using VA measures to focus on improving student achievement, these measures can be used to orient teachers, schools, and districts on the enhancement of students’ motivation to learn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study of 1,601 students in the middle years of schooling (Grades 5-8, each student measured twice, 1 year apart) from 200 classrooms in 44 schools sought to identify factors explaining gains and declines in mathematics engagement at key transition points. In multilevel regression modeling, findings showed that compared with Grade 6 students (upper elementary; the reference category), students in Grades 7 (typically the first secondary school year) and 8 have significantly declined in mathematics engagement from their previous year. Notably, in further analyses, these declines were found to be related to student (particularly mathematics self-efficacy and valuing), home (parent valuing of mathematics and availability of a computer for mathematics), classroom (class-average achievement and perceived climate), and school (socio-economic status and ethnic composition) factors. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study assessed differences in Parker’s typology of perfectionism (healthy perfectionist, unhealthy perfectionist, and nonperfectionist). We compared the results from previous research with follow-up 2005 and 2010 data collected from highly gifted Czech mathematicians aged 12 to 16 years. The study examined whether the same three types/clusters of perfectionists emerge for three cohorts (2000, 2005, and 2010) and whether these clusters differ in other characteristics of perfectionism. Data from 2005 and 2010 cohorts showed healthy and unhealthy perfectionism types and a mixed maladaptive-adaptive type characterized by high scores on both adaptive and maladaptive FMPS dimensions. According to Dixon, Lapsley, and Hanchon, this mixed type reflects a recently described “pervasive” type of unhealthy perfectionism. Possible causes for failing to detect this type in earlier samples of talented Czech students are discussed. Both unhealthy and mixed types of perfectionism, which are the focus of our research, seem to be on the rise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study examined individual factors and social factors that influence adolescent students’ achievement in mathematics. The predictive model suggested direct positive effects of student intelligence, self-rated openness and parental education on achievement in mathematics, whereas direct effects of extraversion on measures of achievement were negative. Indirect positive effects of intelligence, self-rated conscientiousness, student-perceived mathematics teacher’s press for understanding and mastery goal, and a negative effect of student-rated parental academic pressure on course achievement were mediated through the students’ self-efficacy in mathematics. The findings highlight the important role that individual differences in ability and personality, as well as student perceptions of parent and teacher academically related variables, play in the students’ performance in mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on the interaction between students’ domain-specific expectancies and values as a predictor of test anxiety. A subsample of adolescents from the MSALT dataset are used in the current study; students complete measures during the spring of sixth grade and again during the spring of seventh grade. Overall, findings provide support for the predicted expectancy—value interaction. Those students who highly value success in math or English yet expect to do poorly in those subjects report the highest levels of test anxiety. Effect sizes are larger for math than English. Few gender differences emerge, but one prospective analysis reveals that girls who devalue English are more likely to maintain moderate levels of test anxiety across the transition to junior high school. Findings contribute novel information to the literature on test anxiety in young adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classroom peer factors were examined for their role in African American and White early adolescents' sense of belonging in mathematics classrooms. After controlling for fall sense of classroom belonging, spring sense of belonging was greater when teens perceived a more supportive peer context, minimal emotional risk in participating, and when they were recognized by peers as being strong math tutors. Additionally, naturally occurring peer groups were differentiated by sense of belonging of members; peer networks that began the year below average in sense of belonging became more alienated during the course of the year whereas networks above average in belonging stayed at fall levels. The results are interpreted in relation to the benefits that specific peer relations offer aspects of adjustment such as belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mother/child data set of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was used to test a mediation model of the effects of poverty on the mathematics and reading achievement of 1,324 young adolescents 12 through 14 years of age. A revised model provided a better fit than the hypothesized model and generally was supported by cross-validation on a split-half sample. Poverty was related to lower mathematics and reading achievement indirectly through its associations with less cognitively stimulating and emotionally supportive home environments, which in turn were related to adolescents 'school behavior problems. Poverty was related also to lower mathematics and reading achievement indirectly through a direct link with school behavior problems. Poverty was related to lower reading, but not mathematics, achievement through its association with less stimulating cognitive home environments. The model was estimated separately for female, male, Black, Hispanic, and White young adolescents; group differences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]